I was very excited to see this movie. Sure the first Ghost Rider sucked, and sure Nic Cage has recently been a harbinger for trash, but with the guys behind the Crank movies as the directors and with a script from David S. Goyer (Batman Begins, Dark Knight), I was expecting a totally awesome current-era Grindhouse adrenaline rush. Although there are a few sequences in this film that do deliver on its promise of fiery demonic action, most of the acting is completely awful and the story is such a nonsensical waste of time that it ruins the fun.
Nic Cage may not be the most respected actor working today, but there's a certain subculture that has learned to harness his over-the-topness for their own entertainment. I've recently jumped on this bandwagon, and it's only in Cage's few moments of "Cageiness" that work - everyone else either is bad at acting or has one of the worst roles of their career. I don't even know if I can describe the story; I know it had something to do with Cage having to find a kid who has the potential to become a demon or something, so he has to stop him from being killed off by this bad guy (played by Ciaran Hinds). I don't know, you shouldn't care about the plot anyway.
The overall style and handful of action scenes are solid enough for a film like this (I particularly liked the frenetic camera-work during the chase sequences), but the story isn't just bad or dumb, it doesn't even make sense. Seriously, how hard is it to come up with an excuse for Ghost Rider to go around disintegrating bad guys? Spirit of Vengeance could have been one of the best Marvel movies had it a solid story, but this is just frustratingly bad because unlike the first Ghost Rider, this has those few nuggets of awesomeness (most of which were shown in the trailer) that show this could have been something special.
Rating: C-
Studio Ghibli is the world renowned Japanese animation studio that has brought us films like Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro. I tend to enjoy their more "epic" efforts like Princess Monoke and Ponyo, but I decided to check this one out anyway despite knowing going in that this leaned more towards the kiddish, "Totoro" side of things. The story, based off of The Borrowers, follows a tiny family that lives within the walls of a house unbeknownst to the owners.
I really enjoyed this film; I liked how everything in the "borrowers" world was in its proper perspective. For instance, when they pour water or cry the water droplets are larger than what we would perceive them as. The animation, although less detailed than the mega-budgeted 3D animated tales we normally see in theaters, was still as always beautiful to look at. If you're into this kind of thing it's worth admission price for the animation alone. I also liked that the film plays with some really dark, complex themes (including death and loss) despite only being rated G.
The problems I have with this film are the same ones I have with a lot of the other Ghibli films. At times the characters can be too "cutesy" and sometimes due to the light plot sections of the film drag on a little too long. I think if you've seen and enjoyed Ghibli's other movies you'll enjoy this one though, even if it's not their best.
Rating: B
The latest in Hammer's "revival" period, also the first Post-Potter film for Daniel Radcliffe, The Woman in Black is complete crap. Really, the entire thing exists for a few jump scares and almost nothing else. I liked the costumes, the period details, and the set pieces, but there was no substance. Nothing. Check out Paranormal Activity or Insidious if you want a good ghost story, this is garbage!
Rating: D
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